Green Goddess Hummus

Here she is. The creamiest, dreamiest, greenest homemade hummus I’ve ever met. My standard for great hummus has risen over the years and reached a new height in Israel last fall, naturally.

Store-bought hummus is hit or miss and homemade hummus is usually disappointing. It tends to be too thick and bumpy to compare to the cloud-like hummus that I adore at Middle Eastern restaurants.

I’ve tried various tricks for making creamy homemade hummus over the years, like peeling the chickpeas (who has time for that?) and warming the chickpeas to release starch (which then produces a weird layer of skin on top as the hummus cools).

I finally found a method that works, and oh man! It works. Credit goes to Inspired Taste for this stroke of genius, which I stumbled upon during my most recent search for hummus tips.

Here’s the trick: just blend the tahini and lemon juice into creamy oblivion before you start adding the remaining ingredients. That’s it! Tahini is often kinda lumpy and gunky right out of the container, so cutting it with lemon juice and whipping them together produces a light-as-air consistency that carries through to the finished product.

I’m busy daydreaming about all the creamy hummus flavors I can whip up at home now, but I should probably tell you about this one first. It’s the best homemade hummus I’ve ever tasted. I borrowed the fresh herbs from classic green goddess dressings and whipped them into the hummus for a spectacularly green and equivalently flavorful hummus.

I definitely questioned my green goddess concept when I was tossing expensive packets of fresh tarragon and chives into my cart at the grocery store, but this hummus proved its worth. That said, feel free to hold off on this hummus until your herb garden is in full swing, or change up the herbs to cut costs.

You could use parsley alone or try blending in arugula instead. You could omit the herbs completely for a classic, creamy hummus recipe. Maybe you’ll want to toss in some roasted garlic or play with the seasonings. What flavor are you making first?

This ultra creamy, healthy hummus recipe is flavored with delicious herbs! Use classic green goddess dressing herbs like me or change it up with other fresh, leafy herbs. (You'll want to use 1 cup or less fresh herbs, to taste. I think arugula would be awesome.) Learn the trick to making creamy homemade hummus, too! Recipe yields about 1¾ cup hummus.

Ingredients

¼ cup tahini

¼ cup fresh lemon juice (about 1 large lemon's worth)

2 tablespoons olive oil, plus more for serving

½ cup roughly chopped, loosely packed fresh parsley

¼ cup roughly chopped, loosely packed fresh tarragon

2 to 3 tablespoons roughly chopped fresh chives

1 large garlic clove, roughly chopped

½ teaspoon salt, more to taste

One (15-ounce) can of chickpeas, also called garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed

1 to 2 tablespoons water, optional

Garnish with extra olive oil and a sprinkling of chopped fresh herbs

Instructions

First, you'll whip the tahini and lemon juice together to make them ultra smooth and creamy. Combine the tahini and lemon juice in the bowl of your food processor (a smaller food processor will be better suited to the job) or high-powered blender (i.e. Vitamix or Blendtec). Process for about 1½ minutes, pausing to scrape down the bowl of your processor as necessary.

Add the olive oil, parsley, tarragon, chives, chopped garlic and salt to the whipped tahini and lemon juice mixture. Process for about 1 minute, pausing to scrape down the bowl as necessary.

Add half of the chickpeas to the food processor and process for 1 minute. Scrape down the bowl, then add the remaining chickpeas and process for until the hummus is thick and quite smooth, about 1 to 2 minutes more.

If your hummus is too thick or hasn't yet blended into creamy oblivion, run the food processor while drizzling in 1 to 2 tablespoons water, until it reaches your desired consistency.

Scrape the hummus into a small serving bowl. Drizzle about a tablespoon of olive oil on top and sprinkle with additional chopped herbs.

Store hummus in an airtight container and refrigerate for up to one week.

This looks fabulous, Kate. Thanks for both the great recipe and the great tip for making it creamy! And, as always, it’s also great that you cited all for inspiration/sources for both. Not all bloggers do, I’ve noticed, and shame on them! I’m pinning this one right now :-)

Thank you, Marcia! I always strive to give credit where credit is due and it bums me out when other bloggers don’t do the same. I’m pretty sure my high school English teacher would hunt me down if I didn’t cite my sources! :)

Beautiful pictures as always!!! And always love to see those great pictures of Cookie helping out! A question…before I buy some tahini, which brand do you like? Have you ever used the one from Trader Joe’s? Some brands tend to be bitter; I’m wanting one on the mild side…thanks!!! :)

I totally agree, the tahini can be a deal breaker when it comes to hummus! I’m super picky when it comes to tahini (I blame my Lebanese roots) and find that the consistency and flavor depends on it, especially the flavor! Love the trick of pureeing the lemon and tahini before anything else. I’ve also found that removing the “skins” of the chickpeas before pureeing makes the consistency super smooth and using a Vitamix will pulverize anything! Pinning this now :)

Great minds think alike! Just this morning I was craving hummus and put it on my to-do list to find a good new recipe for it. Heavens knows from your travels you know a good authentic hummus. So excited to try this.

I tend to like my hummus plain over all the garlic roasted/red pepper/spicy/etc. variations but I adoreee herbs. My mom used to call me ‘the rabbit’ when I was little because I would pilfer all the herb garnishes from people’s plates and just eat them by themselves. So this hummus would be everything.

The only method that has worked for me in the past is peeling one, which is kind of a drag. I heard the Ottolenghi cookbook has a method where you cook the chickpeas with baking soda or something that works well too.

I make hummus often and will try this recipe, especially the part about blending the tahini and lemon juice. I will also take your advice on waiting until my herb garden is up and running to infuse tarragon.
Thanks!

I love hummus! And I get it all to myself because the boyfriend is not a fan :)
I think I’m going to try mine with a big heaping of end-of-summer basil and a sprinkling of nearly-autumn thyme :)
I love your simple trick for making extra smooth hummus. I can’t wait to try this out soon. Thanks Kate :)

This looks incredible! I love tahini in almost everything lol. I also like to switch out the garbanzo beans for white beans for a smoother consistency and yummy flavor. Thanks for sharing! I can’t wait to try it!

Yum! forehead slap moment for not ever thinking about putting herbs into hummus!
I love the tahini lemon whip method as well, and my whole hummus game changed when I found dried chickepeas at the Indian grocer that had already been split and peeled. After soaking overnight they only take 15mins to cook, and they make the creamiest hummus ever :)
keep up the good work!

I’ve made this twice in a matter of days. So addictively delicious and far better than my favorite recipe I’ve used for several years. And I can’t believe I haven’t come across the blending of tahini/lemon juice before now. Ultra happy you shared that with us as well as this recipe. Thanks!

Oh wow Kate that looks aaah-mazing! I am a huge hummus lover, I have it basically every day and never tire of it.
I need to try this tahini method! I’m pretty happy with the smoothness of mine, I do quite the opposite – I blend just the chickpeas first until they break down, then add the tahini, then the rest of the ingredients.
Need to try this though, whipped tahini sounds a dream!

I am making this deliciousness tonight! I have two open jars of tahini in my fridge right now: one is more liquidy and very smooth (Whole Foods’ 365 brand) and the other is thicker and more textured (Once and Again brand.) Would you recommend one over the other in your recipe? Thank you!

Hi Mona, I’m so sorry the hummus didn’t work in your blender. That’s a bummer. I think it would work in a Vitamix or a Blendtec, but those are sure pricy. I will update my recipe based on your feedback.

That looks amazing ! I love hummus and it s one of my favorites recipes for summer dinners, next time, I’ll totally go for this one !
To peel the chickpeas (better for the taste from my point, to make the recipe lighter as well) there is a trick ! Put the chickpeas in a big bowl full of water and rub them up, clean it to take off the peels and repeat once or twice, like less than 3minutes and it’s ok!

Love this, pinned it and can’t wait to try it! Thank you so much for posting your original inspiration from Inspired Taste. I am new to blogging and I couldn’t find where I had found those creamy secrets this I saw this. So I just updated my hummus recipe, giving credit to you both!!
Your blog was one of my first inspirations (and continues to be) for starting my blog.
xoxo

I stumbled upon your website several months ago. I was surfing Pinterest for new recipes and hoping to ditch some of the horrendous dietary habits I developed in grad school (still a work in progress, I’m afraid). Your recipes have encouraged me to experiment with new ingredients and shown me that meatless meals are anything but boring. Thanks for the culinary inspiration! Keep up the good work!

I’m crazy about green goddess flavors and will be making this for a party this week…however, I need to make a double batch..can it be doubled successfully in a 7-cup processor, or should I just do two batches? Thanks for your thoughts on this.

Oh my goodness, it turned out beautifully, doubling it in a 7-cup processor. What a delicious recipe – I went a little heavy on tarragon, because I love it, and I also added some spinach, kale, and swiss chard, and it was absolutely wonderful. Thank you so much for posting such an easy and unusual recipe.

I totally agree with you about store bought hummus. For me, it’s pretty much always a miss. I put the exact same ingredients in mine including ratios minus the tarragon and chives although I’ve only been putting about 2 tbs. of tahini because my Arabic family and friends prefer it that way. Sometimes I put parsley and other times cilantro, or sometimes I leave out the greens altogether. I’m usually very happy with my consistency, but I almost always use fresh off the pot garbanzo beans and am never as happy with the taste when I use canned. I’m going to try the lemon juice and tahini trick to see if it makes any difference. Maybe it will make what I already love even better. One trick I learned this summer from a Palestinian woman is to stir in a little plain yogurt. I like the little twist it adds to the hummus.

Thanks, Janet! It’s not easy to find good store-bought hummus. Your version with freshly cooked chickpeas sounds great. Let me know if whipping the lemon juice and tahini makes it any better! I like your yogurt addition.

Kate, I just made this glorious hummus and had it on a piece of freshly baked sourdough bread. Such a good snack. I just discovered your blog two weeks ago and have made several of your recipes. They all came out awesome and my entire family loves them! Looking forward to your future posts!

There is a secret you don’t know about hummus ….you don’t need to peel it, before processing it. Cook it in a pressure cooker for about 30 minutes, in a low heat. Then, process it alone and hot with the lemon juice. Then, take this pâté and pass in a sieve, squeezing and rubbing with the back of a large spoon. The shells will remain all in the sieve. Discard them. Place the tahinne in the microwave for 15 seconds and again with the back of a spoon chop it and add to the grain paste nozzle and lemon. Add the other ingredients and control the texture by adding the cooking broth of chickpeas. Ready.

This green hummus looks great. I am so pleased you shared the secret to getting hummus creamy and smooth. I am wondering…could you use a bullet blender like a Nutribullet to blend the tahini and lemon juice?

Kate, This is just fantastic hummus! It is beautiful, delicious and nutritious–the perfect triple threat. My husband described it as ‘crazy good’. I found your terrific website a few months ago and absolutely every recipe I’ve tried has been wonderful! Because I am an old woman, it’s highly likely I’ve been a vegetarian for more years than you’ve been alive. Your new ideas and flavor combinations are very inspiring to me. And, I love your writing too! Thank you!